Advice needed: What welder should I buy?

[thefox]

I think it is time to start shopping for a new MIG welder. First off I should say that although I know about welding and “how” to weld, I haven’t actually welded before. I do have a friend that has welded and will teach me, although he currently doesn’t have a welder. So far this is what I am thinking…..

I would really want to stay with a 110 volt welder, from what I hear I won’t need anything more powerful. I plan on using it for ATV frames and that sort of thing. But what size should I be getting anyways?

I hear Lincoln is a good brand, what about other brands? I assume it’s a get what you pay for type thing and I don’t want to buy a cheap Harbor Freight special to have it be junk.



Thanks for any help!

[smokinwrench]

Get the highest voltage 110 you can buy. If you buy one of those cheapies at tractor supply or a farm and ranch store like that you will hate it. I have owned one and it was horrible, biggest you can weld is maybe 16 gauge.

[carscomefirst]

Lincon, Firepower, Hobart. I have a 130 amp Marquette and love it. I dont know if they make them any more. Mine is gas or gassless.(gassless sucks Imo)
Whatver you get make sure it's not just gassless.
Marquette was a division of lincon years ago.

[300rman]

stick with a gas welder. stay away from flux core, they produce slaggy welds and arent as clean as gas welder welds.

[super90]

I have a millermatic 212 mig welder and its great, all miller products are good also. Lincoln, hobart and firepower like mentioned above are all nice welders too. I have a little 130 amp stick welder that I got from harbor freight a long time ago and I have no complaints, it will weld atv frames or any metal up to quarter inch pretty nicely, though sometimes it does take multiple passes.

[Dirtcrasher]

I could not find a 120V welder that would do what I needed it to do.

I got a small 230V Lincoln SP175 plus and it does everything and up to about 3/8 thick too. Best money I ever spent.....

I think I paid about 600$ and it came with a cart for the bottle etc.

[brapp]

i like my little hobart 125 handler just make shure u get the shield gas hook up stay away from flux cored its alot nicer.

[thefox]

So for good brands we have Lincoln, Firepower, Hobart, Marquette, Miller
.
I should make sure it has a gas hookup.

Will a 110V be big enough? I don’t know if I can talk my Dad into letting me run a 220 line into the garage, although I did just talk him into letting me splice a cable line in. I also plan on keeping it at my friends house until he teaches me how to weld and I get the hang of it, he doesn’t have a 220 line in his garage either.

I do want to stay with a MIG welder, I just think it would be easier to learn on. I do have a friend with an old Lincoln TIG welder but he isn’t very good with it.

[300rman]

a 110 welder will do ehat you need to do quite well. just buy a nice one, around 130 amp + and you will be golden. just remember, even a 110 will pop breakers if the garage isnt set up for high-current. you may not be able to run anything but the welder (like refrigerators, air compressors, excessive lights, etc. etc. )

[KASEY]

i have a millermatic200 and a new 252.. i just bought a miller tig welder... i love my miller welders!!!!! go as big as you can afford!!! my 200 with .023 soild wire is so smooth its unreal,,, i had a small miller 130 that was 110v... i sold it... you get better welds from a big welder turned down than a little welder turned up!!!!!

[thefox]

Well, I cheaped out. I figured that since I am getting a low powered welder I am not going to spend the money on a good brand. That and I found a Farm Hand (Tractor Supply Co. brand) on ebay and I was in the area to pick it up this weekend. For the $136 it should be good enough to start with.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110298943901

http://i9.ebayimg.com/07/i/001/11/11/9d4d_1.JPG
http://i18.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/11/11/d305_1.JPG

[motoman110]

Even tho I love my little lincoln 135 mig, all I have to say is, "roses are red, and welders are blue!"

[ProCarbine2k1]

Temporarily put aside what you may have learned in school, and have a welder teach you how to weld, because you wont know how to weld by reading a book (although it is helpful). The right teacher will make all the difference in the world, trust me on that one. You may even want to pick up a dvd while you are at it.
I would also listen to the guys telling you to run with gas, it will cost you some dough to get set up (if your welder is not flux-only), but pay for itself in the long run. Last but not least, have FUN with it! You arent going to be a pro in a day, and thats not what its all about. Same as being able to work on your own machines, you dont have to pay someone else to do it- and you may make some extra cash on the side-

[Daddio]

It ain't a mig without the gas. Sorry!

[thefox]

I have the flux core wire now because it came with it but I am planning on getting a gas tank whenever I can get to the welding supply place. I am looking forward to welding a practicing it. I have a friend that learned how to weld a couple of years ago and has impressed me with how good he has gotten without “formal” training (he was able to tack weld a nut to the outer races of a $400+ Westcoast swinger without hurting the swinger), he is going to teach me how to weld.

Tonight we cut up some steel to make a press so I can rebuild some YTM shocks. Tomorrow we can weld it up!

[fabiodriven]

I gotta say, I'm the only guy on here who is for the flux-core.

I'm no wleder by trade, but I can throw a hairy bead given the right circumstances and equipment. I welded custom exhaust for two years on a lincoln mig and that could often be tricky. Welding steel to stainless steel, good metal to rusty metal, all kinds of wierd stuff. I own two welders. A Lincoln "tombstone" 220 volt arc welder for big stuff, and an old "Silver Beauty" 110v mig. I run the flux core for a couple reasons.

First, I can go to the hardware store and buy a roll of flux-core wire, bring it home, and weld. Done.

Second, why pay for gas if you don't need it?

Third, and most important in my opinon, a welder buddy of mine told me with the crappy little welders (like mine) you're better off with flux-core because it gets hotter than regular gas wire and therefore penetrates more. This is important on my crappy little welder because it has no balls. This guy really knows his stuff, too. He welds all day, every day, so I trust his opinion.

Flux-core wire does make a mess, that's a fact. If you're welding something you can't grind, it ain't gonna look pretty.

All in all, I'm happy with flux core.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

You now have a welder. For those that don't have a welder, well they simply don't have a welder and you have a leg up on them.
That welder you picked up is 100 times better then that little buzz box POS I bought for my first welder.
It lasted about 3 hours total run time in 2 days of using it. I spent at least a hour of throwing down hard on my concrete driveway and kicking the dog crap out of it before putting in the scrap pile. Man oh man was I ever tourqed that I had bought that POS.
I still don't understand how that could have been leagly imported anywhere !
HoosierDaddy is coming up Thursday to have a rear shock mounting tab welded on so i thought i had better get my Licoln 3200 blah blah what ever it is switched back over to weld alu. So i also made some practice welds.
I told Hoosier that just because I own a welder, don't expect pretty but it will stick together (God he must be desprate :) )
First practice, not so good ~ more power.
2nd. practice ~ better.
3rd. practice ~ okay,
Just because Iown a welder, don't mean much. Practice-practice-practice.
And like Sycho says, have somebody over that has been welding awhile if you can and you will be amazed on all the little bits of info you pick up.
I think you can get the gas add on kit for that unit to be able to weld up alu in the future.

johnCan't wait. Well make that 86 T3 swinger work on my 85!:beer

[Daddio]

Here is a little info on mig welding. I first used a mig welder back in 19 and 72. It was a Millermatic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_metal_arc_welding

sorry I forgot the link before.

[edog]

Hows it going with the welder Fox?

Got any pics of some stuff your doing?

I am interested in that welder.

[thefox]

Hows it going with the welder Fox?


Got any pics of some stuff your doing.

I am interested in that welder.

No pictures yet. Joe was busy tonight so I attempted it tonight alone... I will have to wait for Joe because my welds were horrendous (basicaly what I expected).

[edog]

No pictures yet. Joe was busy tonight so I attempted it tonight alone... I will have to wait for Joe because my welds were horrendous (basicaly what I expected).

What kind of welding mask do you have?

[thefox]

What kind of welding mask do you have?

Errr mask?























lol I’m kidding. I am using a cheap mask that Joe brought over last night, I have no idea what brand or anything and it’s not an auto darkening or anything fancy like that.

[edog]

I have used the auto darking one. It's slick...helps alot when you first learning i think.

[300rman]

Well, I cheaped out. I figured that since I am getting a low powered welder I am not going to spend the money on a good brand. That and I found a Farm Hand (Tractor Supply Co. brand) on ebay and I was in the area to pick it up this weekend. For the $136 it should be good enough to start with.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110298943901

http://i9.ebayimg.com/07/i/001/11/11/9d4d_1.JPG
http://i18.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/11/11/d305_1.JPG


just because its low powered doesnt mean low quality.
my cousin has one of those like you just bought. it SUCKS ASS. i cant get a good bead because it doesnt feed wire at a steady rate, and it seems to power itself up and down because sometimes it will burn right through exhaust pipe, and sometimes it wont even penetrate it, and just build on the surface. flux-core welds look crappy anyways, really dirty and slaggy.......and a 400 dollar low-powered lincoln has MUCH more versatility, as there are more settings to fine tune for specific welding purposes..........

ive used cheap welders, and ive used nice but small welders, and it makes a world of difference.

[300rman]

I have used the auto darking one. It's slick...helps alot when you first learning i think.

I'd prefer to learn without auto darkening. i did, and its nice, because you can still get yourself set up when you cant see out of the auto-darkening lens (like being under a car)
Yes, a bit easier to learn with, but you wont learn as much.

[300rman]

a good auto-darken wont flash you enough to bother you one bit. ive welded on and off for hours with my helmet, and it never irritated my eyes, and my eyes are somewhat light sensitive.

[thefox]

just because its low powered doesnt mean low quality.
my cousin has one of those like you just bought. it SUCKS ASS. i cant get a good bead because it doesnt feed wire at a steady rate, and it seems to power itself up and down because sometimes it will burn right through exhaust pipe, and sometimes it wont even penetrate it, and just build on the surface. flux-core welds look crappy anyways, really dirty and slaggy.......and a 400 dollar low-powered lincoln has MUCH more versatility, as there are more settings to fine tune for specific welding purposes..........

ive used cheap welders, and ive used nice but small welders, and it makes a world of difference.

Way to not mention that before…. :banned:

Here are some pictures of my first time welding when someone with experience was watching and giving pointers. As you can see I still have plenty to practice but I am pleased so far. I’m sure welding fresh clean metal will be easier then an old bed frame.

The welder worked ok. At first the wire kept jamming up so I made a metal tab to hold the feed housing in place and that fixed it. I need to get more wire tomorrow so I can finish up the press.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/thefoxman45/HPIM2225.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/thefoxman45/HPIM2226.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/thefoxman45/HPIM2227.jpg